LUTCHER — The St. James Parish Sheriff's Office is publicly butting heads with the parish government over its involvement in this year's Christmas Eve bonfires on the levee.

Sheriff Claude J. Louis Jr. shared a video on Facebook accusing the parish government of "trying to usurp" his authority and spreading misinformation about his department.

The apparent debacle is over the parish's special Christmas Eve bonfire event honoring America's 250th anniversary.

In the video, Louis says he told St. James Parish Community Relations Officer Lauri Roussel to remove his office from promotional materials for the event because he was never contacted "to endorse this program."

"I further advised Ms. Lauri that we would not be doing security, as was instructed by my major," Louis said. "I further instructed her that we would not be doing contraflow, nor would we be doing any blocking of major highways with this 250-year bonfire event."

Louis continued by saying the sheriff's office would, in fact, "be out in force" on Christmas Eve to ensure a safe and peaceful event. 

When reached by phone, Roussel declined to comment on the situation.

According to the sheriff, the St. James Parish Government has since reached out to the Ascension and St. John sheriff's offices asking for assistance.

"That flagrant usurp of authority will not be tolerated," Louis said. "I will not be bullied into anything that we were not a part of in the initial planning stages."

The bonfire burning is planned for Christmas Eve on the levee near Hwy. 3193 and Hwy. 44. The parish government said it has worked for months with the Pontchartrain Levee District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to coordinate the event. 

Sheriff Louis was not immediately available for comment.